A group of six people have been arrested by the Afghan security forces before they manage to join the fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.

According to the local government officials, at least three Pakistanis are among those arrested during an operation late on Saturday night in Nangarhar province.

The provincial governor’s spokesman Ataullah Khogyani confirmed the report and said the individuals were arrested from the vicinity of Rodat district.

“Three Pakistanis and three Afghan nationals were arrested by the police forces from Rodat district on Saturday night as they wanted to join the ISIS group,” he added.

The anti-government armed militant groups including the ISIS loyalists have not commented regarding the report so far.

This comes as at least three Pakistanis were arrested during a similar operation in Nangarhar province last month.

The arrest of the Pakistani nationals in Nangarhar comes as the Afghan forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism operations against the offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in this province.

The local officials had earlier said that the majority of the ISIS militants fighting in this province are foreign nationals, mainly from the tribal regions of Pakistan.

Provincial governor’s spokesman Ataullah Khogyani last year that the documents obtained from the dead bodies and those arrested during the operations in Achin, Kot, Haska Mina and other parts of Nangarhar, reveal that they are originally residents of Orakzai Agency.

Khogyani further added that the intelligence information gathered by the government also reveal that the ISIS loyalists are mostly comprised of Pakistani nationals.

According to Khogyani, the residents of Tajikistan are also fighting alongside the Pakistani nationals for ISIS terrorist group who are mainly deployed after completing training in Pakistan.